Shanhai Cannon has undergone a name change and will wear the P500 name in South Africa.
On-sale in China since early last year, Great Wall Motors (GWM) announced this week that its flagship bakkie, the Shanhai Cannon, will officially become a reality in South Africa during the second quarter of the year.
Part of the Chinese’s brand extensive roll-out of four new models in the same quarter, the Shanhai Cannon will, however, undergo a name change to P500 in order to align with the P-Series which could potentially replace the aging Steed 5 that opens-up the marque’s bakkie range at some stage.
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Sitting above a three-tier bakkie range in China comprising the P-Series, known at home as the Poer, and the mid-range King Kong Cannon that seemingly won’t be available in South Africa, the P500 will only be sold as a double cab and from the get-go, with selectable four-wheel-drive.
Showcased for the first time on local soil at GWM’s operations restructuring event in Sandton, the P500 also becomes one of the biggest bakkies sold in South Africa, with an overall length of 5 445 mm, width of 1 991 mm, height of 1 924 mm and wheelbase 3 350 mm.
As a comparison, an equivalent Ford Ranger Wildtrak measures 5 350 mm long, 2 015 mm wide and 1 886 mm high, while measuring 3 327 mm long in the wheelbase department.
Significantly smaller and narrower than a Ford F-150, which seemingly served as its proportional inspiration, the P500 has a ground clearance of 224 mm and for South Africa, will become the first bakkie to offer a multi-function tailgate.
In essence, this comprises a dual design in which a button located within the P-Series logo opens the tailgate in a split barn-door style similar to the Fiat Toro by default.
More difficult, though, is opening the tailgate in the traditional drop-down manner, as apart from pressing the button with a bit more vigour, a fair degree of muscle is needed to activate the locking mechanism that prevents the gate from opening horizontally.
Said to offer a wading depth of 800 mm and able to tow a validated 3 500 kg, closer inspection of the P500’s interior also confirmed two buttons for the front and rear diff-lock, and a drive mode selector with an unspecified number of settings.
Taking pride of place inside, despite no official details being announced, the interior sees the standard fitting of an expansive infotainment system digital instrument cluster – the former measuring 14.6-inches in China and the latter 12.3-inches – wood and leather trim, climate control with rear vents, heated and ventilated front seats, electrically reclining rear seats, and Park Assist.
Also furnished with side-steps that deploy when the doors are opened, the P500 boasts front and rear parking sensors, a reverse camera, and in Chinese-spec, Driver Attention Alert, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Change Assist.
Present at the event were both engines South Africa will receive; a petrol and a diesel, the former being a segment first self-charging hybrid.
Effectively the same electrified turbocharged 2.0-litre unit used in the GWM Tank 300, the petrol, which will wear the HEV moniker, develops 255kW/648Nm delivered to all four wheels through a hybrid specific nine-speed automatic gearbox.
For the time being, the flagship petrol, the 265kW/500Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6, remains a no-no despite being offered in Australia.
On the diesel side, the in-house developed 2.4-litre oil-burner does without any electrical assistance for an output of 135kW/480Nm. Connected to i t is a conventional nine-speed automatic ‘box.
An exact date of the reveal in the second quarter still to be finalised, projections point to the P500’s asking price starting around the R700 000 to R750 000 mark based on the R653 750 sticker of the flagship four-wheel-drive P-Series LT.
As it stands, more details, including spec, will be announced at a later stage.
Additional information from carnewschina.com.
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